For more than 30 years, Suzuki has cemented its presence in the off-road community with its compact 4x4 which has many names. It was called the Gypsy in India, Jimny in the UK, Samurai in Australia, Sierra in Japan and so on. The company launched the third-generation of the car back in 2018, before slowly making its way across other markets in the world. However, with dwindling sales and customers losing interest quickly sighting lack of space, Suzuki has decided to discontinue sales in the UK.
While the Jimny has officially been taken off the company’s website, Suzuki UK still has enough units of the Jimny in its stockyards to last for another four months. However, while the car will not be sold as a passenger vehicle anymore, it is not the complete end for the Jimny in the UK. The company will make structural and interior changes, so as to continue selling the car as a commercial vehicle in the N-1 Class. This group of commercial vehicles are the ones which have derived from passenger vehicles, converted into vans or combi vans. In another surprise news, Suzuki states that they are also considering to re-launch the Jimny but in a hybrid or mild-hybrid format. This move also falls in-line with the company’s commitment to reducing its Co2 footprint and the shift to environmentally-friendly vehicle powerplants in the near future.
The Jimny is currently powered by a naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre in-line four petrol unit, delivering 103bhp and 138Nm of torque. The transmission options available are 5-speed manual and 5-speed automatic. Maruti-Suzuki had also showcased the Jimny at the recently-concluded 2020 Auto Expo in order to gauge customer’s reactions. After receiving a rather positive one, Maruti-Suzuki has been going back and forth about launching the Jimny in India or not. However, there have been many renderings of a 5-door Jimny doing rounds on the internet and that is what would work if the Jimny was to be launched in India. News of Maruti-Suzuki starting production of the Jimny at its facility in Gujarat was also spreading rapidly. Alas, it still remains unclear whether we would ever be able to buy a Maruti-Suzuki Jimny or Gypsy, or whatever they would call it, in India. Yet, there is hope because those plans have not yet been completely taken off the table.
Also See: This is how 2021 Maruti Gypsy (5-door Suzuki Jimny) could look like in real life
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